“I’m taking a shower, and then we’ll go to this fucking party.” James pulled down his workout shorts.
“Finally!” I cheered happily.
“I wish I had your fucking humor, Tiff,” he grumbled, irritated. I went back to relaxing on the bed, enjoying the show.
“I wish I had your ass, Jamie.”
He answered me by flipping me the bird then disappeared into the bathroom.
Just as I was about to pick a new Netflix series, I heard thuds coming from outside the window.
I didn’t pay attention at that particular moment, but then the noise got more persistent. Who could that be?
“James?!”
“What is it?”
“Were you expecting June White?”
I heard the jet of water from the shower stop abruptly.
“What the fuck did you say?”
“June White’s climbing up to your window.”
26
June
I stared at my mom attentively during dinner; I wanted to analyze her every answer. Or maybe I should say her every lie.
“And tell me, Mom, how was your work trip?”
“Good. Are you saying the pasta’s overcooked?”
I pierced two pieces of penne with my fork and stared furtively at them.
“Yeah, but can you tell me more? When I go on a trip, you make me tell you all the good, the bad, and the ugly!” I tried to make eye contact from the opposite side of the table.
“What do you want to know? It was a boring work trip, June. How about school? Did you have any exams?”
Of course, let’s talk about school. Classic.
“Hunter?” I pressed, leading to her giving an indecipherable smirk.
“What’s Jordan got to do with it now?”
“I don’t know, you tell me,” I replied. “I know he traveled too. Is that a coincidence, Mom?”
She cleaned the corner of her mouth with her napkin then took a sip of water.
“He went camping with Jasper. But I’ll pretend I don’t know how you found that information out, young lady.”
I rolled my eyes. She always managed to turn the tables on me. I kept quiet for the rest of dinner until I saw her get up from the table.
“Where are you going?” I couldn’t help but ask.
She organized the plates and put them in the dishwasher, then went to the bathroom and left all made up wearing a scandalous amount of makeup.
